Author Archive for JP Wiggins

When we think about visibility and tracking in our daily lives, our consumer mindset probably turns on and we think of online ordering. We’re concerned with questions like, “Where’s my stuff?” or “What time can I expect my order to be delivered?” In a B2C environment, visibility is about tracking. But in B2B, it’s so much more. Visibility covers the technology and tools you use for supply chain management. It’s about amassing data from all […]

To a lot of people, the word “creativity” doesn’t come to mind when they hear about transportation or logistics. Maybe some of us in the industry don’t even think of ourselves as the “creative type.” If that’s the case, I think we sell ourselves short. Every day, logistics planners have to be immensely creative in how they move freight with a seemingly endless number of changing constraints. To be creative, however, you need technology that […]

Whether you’re a carrier or a shipper, autonomous trucks (ATs) are in our industry’s future – and are coming at us quickly! But the typical benefits we hear about – safety, efficiency, the solution to driver shortages – mostly pertain to the carrier side. So what about shippers? How much will ATs change the day-to-day operations of a shipper? I think shippers have been somewhat forgotten in the whole discussion around autonomous trucks, yet they […]

To help you deliver freight at the lowest cost that meets customer requirements, a transportation management system (TMS) has to learn and understand the complexities of your particular business. This level of intimacy, however, is often not appreciated by first-time TMS purchasers. I see many companies make their TMS vendor selection as if they were buying accounting, HR or other back office software – and this approach is typical when finance leads the selection or […]

Many companies strive to make our lives and businesses easier. Whether voice-directed pick/pack systems or a new smart phone app, new technology and refined techniques allow complex processes to be simpler and people to be more productive. It’s all about easy – fast – simple and doing more for less. These are the mantras for today. In the world of TMS we need to embrace this trend. Too many TMS projects have either failed or […]

A couple of weeks ago, SAP held one of its periodic executive advisory councils for customers in the logistics industries. The dinner and hallway conversations focused a lot on economy, and how it is changing the buying patterns of shippers. Everyone agreed that in these economic times upper management is getting more involved in expenditures and scrutinizing every dollar spent. Point departments, like operations and warehousing, usually have to follow more strident purchasing guidelines. One can argue that […]